"The Soviet Union's dramatic collapse in 1991 was a pivotal moment in the complex history of central and Eastern Europe, and Ivan Berend here offers a magisterial new account of the dramatic transformation that culminated in ten former Soviet bloc countries joining the European union. Taking the OPEC oil crisis of 1973 as his starting point, he charts the gradual unraveling of state socialism in Central and Eastern Europe, its ultimate collapse in the revolutions of 1989, and the economic restructuring and lasting changes in income, employment, welfare, education, and social structure which followed. He pays particular attention to the crucial role of the European Union as well as the social and economic hurdles that continue to face former Soviet bloc nations as they try to catch up with their Western neighbors. This will be essential reading for scholars and students of European and economic history, European politics, and economics."--Jacket.